Economist Robert Reich is driven to end income inequality

Sun, 03/06/2011 - 00:00 EDT - LA Times

The political commentator, author, professor and Labor secretary under President Clinton doesn't consider himself a success because the nation's income gap keeps growing and so many American families are struggling.The gig: Reich, who was Labor secretary under President Clinton, is a nationally known economist and political commentator. Much of his work focuses on America's rising income inequality. Reich's belief that too much of the nation's wealth is going to the rich at the expense of the middle class and poor has made him a bestselling author while inflaming his critics. Reich, 64, now teaches public policy at UC Berkeley.

Related

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama could be months away from announcing his pick to replace Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve, yet critics are already making an unusual public effort to stop one contender in the race – former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.

In my Robert Reich's F Minus In Economics: False Facts, False Theories, I gave Professor Reich an F for his Higher wages can save America’s economy — and its democracy. For those who missed it, the reasons for my grade (as a 40-year teacher of economics) are Reich’s lamentable disregard for facts and his lack of knowledge of basic economics.

Robert Reich, professor at the University of California at Berkeley and former labor secretary under President Bill Clinton has gone completely mad. Mr. Reich wrote on his blog Friday that he thinks more Keynesian economic policy actions are needed to rescue the economy.Complete Story »

Lane Kenworthy:
Is income inequality harmful?, The Good Society, March 2015: A generation ago, perhaps even just a few years ago, worry about high or rising income inequality stemmed mainly from a belief that it is unfair. In recent years the source of apprehension has shifted. The dominant concern now is that inequality may have harmful effects on a range of outcomes we value, from education to health to economic growth to happiness to democracy and more. Does it?

On its face, Jacob Cornbluth's Inequality For All is a completely successful and efficient delivery module for the economic ideas and concerns of one Mr. Robert Reich. It is 90-minutes of Reich giving a glorified lecture about the widening income gap in America and how that came about, along with worthwhile advice on how to improve it (basically return to the Ford-era tax rates). That he makes genuine sense and brings up a number of solid points is both worth pointing out and almost beside the point. Mr.